U.N. Report Claims Pakistani Military Bungled Bhutto Murder Probe
Report says Pakistani military failed to protect Benazir Bhutto.
April 16, 2010— -- The 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto by a 15-year-old suicide bomber, "could have been prevented" by Pakistan's security establishment, according to the report by the United Nations.
The harshly worded report accuses Pakistan's intelligence community of ignoring threats to Bhutto, failing to protect her, botching crime-scene evidence and hampering an investigation to find suspects linked to her death.
The 65 page document goes on to accuse to a lesser extent, former President Pervez Musharraf, the police, and Benazir's own camp of supporters for the series of events that lead to the leader's killing.
Bhutto, a former Pakistani prime minister was killed on Dec. 27, 2007, after a political rally in Rawalpindi just days after she returned to the country after a self-imposed, 9 year exile.
Bhutto died during a suicide-bomb and gunfire attack. As leader of the Pakistan People's Party, Bhutto's death was mourned throughout the country.
The three person commission was appointed by U.N. Secretary General Bank Ki Moon to investigate some of the rumors and conspiracy theories flying after Bhutto's death.
Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, who chaired the commission told reporters at the U.N. on Thursday, the research "was carried out both inside and outside Pakistan and this report reflects results of well over 250 interviews that we conducted along with the examination of hundreds of documents, videos, photographs and other documentary material."
"The responsibility for Ms Bhutto's security on the day of her assassination rested with the federal Government, the government of Punjab and the Rawalpindi District Police. None of these entities took the necessary measures to respond to the extraordinary, fresh and urgent security risks that they knew she faced," the report notes.
Although the report does not name Bhutto's killer, it outlines the clear Bhutto assassination threats the Pakistani government received before her death and goes on to conclude that Pakistan's security forces fell short on even trying to stop them.
